Press Report : Land Rover hits all-time high for monthly sales

Birmingham Post, 7th April, 2010

Land Rover has announced an all-time-high monthly sales record, during the car industry’s worst downturn for 40 years. Figures to be released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders will show the Solihull firm sold around 11,000 vehicles in March – its best UK performance since the company was founded in 1948.

Sales for the 4×4 manufacturer have been firmly on the upturn for the last six months and in February alone, global turnover was up 62 per cent at 13,905.  The UK sales performance for March will reaffirm Land Rover’s recovery from the automotive sector’s worst recession since the mid-60s.

Although official SMMT figures will not be released until Thursday, reports of a record month will be confirmed by the Lode Lane company. The sales bonanza will be another major boost to owners Tata, who announced at the start of the year that JLR had returned to profitability in the final three months of 2009 for the first time in more than a year. JLR recorded net profits of £55 million in the last quarter of last year.

Both Land Rover and Jaguar finished the year strongly with impressive increases chalked up for December. JLR had already bounced back in the third quarter of 2009 to reveal a profit of £22 million compared to a deficit of £49 million for the three months to the end of June.

Both Land Rover and Jaguar finished the year strongly with impressive increases chalked up for December. JLR had already bounced back in the third quarter of 2009 to reveal a profit of £22 million compared to a deficit of £49 million for the three months to the end of June.

The new all-time monthly record will be a massive shot in the arm for the new management team of Mumbai-based Carl-Peter Forster, new Group Chief Executive Officer of Tata Motors, and Ralf Speth, new JLR Chief Executive, who is based at Gaydon.

Previous Chief Executive David Smith was replaced in a boardroom switch announced in January. However, the new management regime still faces a tough job appeasing unions who remain resolutely opposed to the proposed closure of Castle Bromwich or Solihull.

The March sales record comes in one of the sector’s most critical months, with new plates launched.

[Source: Birmingham Post]

Clive Goldthorp

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.